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Ask Misty Archive - Valdemar Writing | Games and Gamers | Birds & Animals | Books in Progress | Music | Books & Movies Arts & Crafts | Conventions and Fandom | Valdemar | Companions | Miscellany 2005 Q: Greetings from Germany
First, I am sorry for my terrible English.
My name is Jörg Kartner and I want to thank You for writing so many
wonderful books. Now to my questions, I hope I don't bother You to much. 1) How great in numbers are the Hawkbrothers? Are they really counting only a few thousand? 2) Will we ever read more stories about the Mage Wars characters? (I admit, I miss Skan and Amberdrake) 3) And finally, maybe a very stupid question but an important one for me. Do the "artifical" creatures like the gryphons the Kyree and the Hertasi go to Bermuda too?
Thank You for Your time. To answer your questions:
1) altogether there are probably about 100,000 Hawkbrothers, give or take a couple thousand Q: Heyla, I'm a big fan of your Velgarth/Valdemar novels, as well as many others. I think you do an excellent job of creating these worlds that complicate the mind. I often find the problem when reading fantasy that the author cannot deal with magic and keep up character developement and a plot that you care about. I applaud you for that. Now for the question: Of course, everyone knows that Baron Valdemar and the rest of his followers traveled to the west to escape the tyranny of the Eastern Empire. Similar to the United States, except the U.K. isn't the enemy that is first portrayed of the Eastern Empire in Valdemar's perspective. What I need clarification on is the language spoken. Like the U.S., we speak English, and we didn't change our language at first. Over time, however, our language was altered, but still referred to as English, and still we have the ability to communicate to anyone who can speak any form of English clearly. Is that similar to Valdemaran? To sum up, did the Baron and his followers develope another different language, or did they take their original language and modify it? Or did they just keep the same language and change the name, hoping the Eastern Empire wouldn't notice? If you don't know at this time, it's okay. Developing a whole universe isn't as easy as it seems, even if you are writing it. I appreciate the time you put into your work. Oh! One more question that won't challenge your mind too much: As almost all of your readers know, you live with a flock of parrots. I wanted to know, do you live with any other animals? You said in the Author's Note section of your Winds trilogy that birds may not be the most lovey-duvey animals you can own, and was just wondering if there was another animal at your home (besides Larry) that you can trust. JK Larry! Anyways, thanks for your time, and I can't wait for Exile's Valor and the new anthology to come out! Zhai'helleva! A: Although I haven't done any development on it, I would think that the language of the Eastern Empire and Valdemar were originally the same, but by now bear the same resemblence to each other as Spanish and Italian. I have had cats in the past (rather incompatible with parrots now!) and we have a Schutzhund-trained German shepherd, Xito von der Berg Haidstein.
Q: I was wondering if it is just a coincidence that Kantis from Exile s Honor has a name nearly identical to Kantris A: In this case, yes.
Q: Thank you, thank you, thank you. What for? For writing so many books that have been faithful companions, creating characters who seem like personal friends, and for providing a wonderful world to escape to. I've been reading your books since I was 12. I'm now 23 and am at the point where I wait with baited breath for each new release, solo work or colaboration, Valdemar (my first love) or not. I thank you for being so prolific, and so consistantly enchanting in your words. On to the point. I recently embarked on something of a project, reading all the Valdemar related books in their "chronological" order. How you have grown with time, your words become more eloquent in every book, your characters more real, your images so much more vivid. I'm a writer myself, (no, I don't want you to read anything for me, even though I'm a poet, not a novelist) and you have inspired me to keep improving my style, to sit down for an hour or two everyday and make myself write something, anything. The courage you gave Vanyel, Talia, Kerowyn, and so many others, has given me courage during some of the more difficult times in my life. They've kept me company during my most isolated times, been my friends when I had none, and inspired me to go out and do something for my fellow man. So I thank you, Mercedes, (if it's ok that I call you that) for giving at least one girl something to grow with and on, for giving me a world completly apart to escape to, for giving me roll models when I had none, for making me laugh and cry, for being so prolific, for doing it without pomp and fanfare. Your books have helped shape me into the person I am today, giving me many of the ideals and morals I hold dear. You've made my world a better place. I will never fully express it, but thank you. Thank you so much. With deepest respect and admiration. A: whoa.... (blinks)
Q: of course like all the others that email you i love your writing. i am thirteen and i started reading your books for around 5 months ago and i have completed 4 of your Valdemar series and one novel (take a thief) and after reading the mage wars i was really wondering what kind of tails gryphon's had. the way i figured it would be really hard to fly with a cat like tail (how they are most commonly drawn) but in you writing it said that they thumped their tails when they got annoyed (or something along those lines) and it would probably be hard to thump a feathered tail. i have asked many people and they don't know either (in fact one of the people i consulted went babbling about how hard it would be to fly with a body that massive any way) so i am still left wondering. and just out of the blue isn't lion king music awesome? A: According to Larry, who designed them, Gryphons have feathered tails. I believe we said something about them twitching their tails when annoyed, which is rather different from thumping them---and if you've ever owned a bird, you will have seen that particular behavior, from parakeet to Macaw and everything in between.
Q: Dear Ms. Lackey, First, I was hoping you wouldn't mind a little ancedote having to do with your books. This is what happened: About seven years ago, I worked for the phone company and had an awful schedule. As all of my children were over twelve they pretty much became latch-key kids. My younger two, a boy and girl, were fighting constantly during the summer school break. After they broke the fifth tv remote I told them they could not watch television until after they had read a book. The books I made them read were "Arrows of the Queen" for my daughter and "Pawn of Prophecy" for my son. I chose those books because I had already read them. I had hoped to get them interested in something besides television and Nintendo. It worked. Beautifully! Today, my son is a Lance Corporal in the Marines and is Kuwait. My daughter will be 21 this year and is a new mom. They are both avid readers and neither considers their day complete without having read something. While my daughter went on to find other interests in reading she never forgot Alberich. She *loves* Alberich. So when I bought "Exile's Honor" she borrowed it. I can't get it back now. Don't worry that's not your problem. I have read your Q&A page and haven't seen these questions. It's probably not a big deal but what was Baron Valdemar's first name? Did he get elevated to Grove Born as a result of his efforts to insure his peoples' safety and prosperity? One last question please? Is it possible that the Tedrels and Valdemar were related? I think it would be kind of awesome if the war that cost the Tedrels so much that they became lost in dispair was the Eastern Empire annexing their country. Thank you. A: To tell you the truth, I haven't yet decided what Baron Valdemar's full name was. I make these things up as I need them, and I haven't needed that yet. The Grove-Born are the equivalent of Archangels; spirits that never were human, so I don't think Valdemar would make that cut. And I haven't exactly figured out where the Tedrels came from, though as they are originally from further south and east than even Jkatha, heaven only knows what their original civil war was about.
Q: I am 67 tears old and have been reading science fiction since I was four. I have a personal sci-fi collection of nearly 1200 bokks and of all the characters in all the books I have read, Alberich comes very close to being my favorite. He is a superbly constructed, very believeable and throughly admirable character. It would be a pleasure to meet him; it's a shame that is impossible. I am glad to see Exile's Valor is scheduled. I would very much enjoy more books based uopn the Weaponsmaster. Any possibility of the happening? Thank you for the many hours of enjoyment you have given me with your wonderful stories. A: I think that although Alberich may appear in passing in other books, his run as a main character will be finished in EXILE'S VALOR.
Q: Hi Misty, I have been a fan of your Valdemar books for several year now (I own 18) and have read most of the book in the series, some several times just to get all the juicy details. And after the last time I read "Last Herald Mage" series I have several questions in regard to Falconsbane's reincarnations (which is by the way one of the most interesting villains I've come across), are ether of the mages Van meats in his life one of them. Krabian had cat like appearance which suggests Falconsbane, and Leareth is one of the names that Ad'desha uncovered in his memories. If ether of them where Falconsbane then how come he didn't know about Valdemar before and if they where not they what is the connection. A: Leareth was a Falconsbane reincarnation---and basically, after all that time coming back over and over again, since it was his downloads tended to get dropped data, so he lost lots of memories.
Q: In the Forest of Sorrows, Rolan challenged the Forest when it was about to swat Talia. Did Rolan know it was merely Yfandes or a Companion ghost? Or did Rolan challenge something it thought might actually overwhelm him? Since Sorrows has defended Valdemar from bandits and the north, is it possible that Rolan gave Sorrows its first non-trivial challenge in ages? A: Well, when you are dealing with ghosts, you are dealing in part with "recordings." If you think of the three spirits in Sorrows as being like Need, and not quite awake, you'll see that the Forest was reacting to something that appeared to be "same old, same old" and as a consequence, when Rolan challenged the Forest, it started the awakening process that resulted in Van, Stef, and Yfandes being more "present."
Q: Dear Misty, I have been Reading your books since Highschool, Im 29 now;) I fell in love with your writing with the Last Hearld mage series, and you have been my favorite author of all time ever since. I absolutely love your style of writing, it is rich with metaphor and description and I really feel like I'm living the story. I also love how you mix real world issues with a beautiful fantasy story line, I hope someday to write as well you do. My main question might be controversal, or been asked before but you have gotten so many questions I havent been able to read them all, so I apologize in advance if this is a repeat. I was wondering what prompted you to have your main hero Vanyel, in the Last herald mage series to be gay? I was wondering if this had any personal relevance to you, I know you have alot of gay fans now, And I count myself as one of them. I also wanted to thank you, as your books offered me much comfort in finding myself through vanyel's storyline during my younger years. I also am very happy that you have found much deserved sucess in your career, and best wishes to you and your Husband. A: Actually, it happened more-or-less by accident. When I wrote the first book, ARROWS OF THE QUEEN, my editor wanted more magic---except, of course, that there was no "real" magic in Valdemar, only psionics ("Mind-Magic"). But the editor insisted that it couldn't be a fantasy without "real" magic, so I had Talia reading about and daydreaming about someone---Vanyel---who'd had "real" magic. It just happened that when I was writing about what she was reading about, I mentioned his lover Stephan, which of course, meant that he was gay---I didn't actually think about it at the time. Then, when I decided, after the ARROWS trilogy and the two books about Tarma and Kethry, to do some more Heralds books, it seemed reasonable to go "back" and show why there wasn't any "real" magic in Valdemar. Since Vanyel was the LAST Herald-Mage, well, that was obviously what I needed to write. The conscious decision was to make him a troubled and exceedingly misunderstood young man (then Herald) first, and only make his sexual preferences as part of his character, rather than the focus of it. Even if he'd been straight, he'd never have gotten along with his father, and neither parent would have ever understood him.
Q: On to my question. I am a rabbit breeder, mainly to feed my family, and I plan to begin showing this year. I was wondering if you would be offended if I based my naming system for show/breeding rabbits on the Valdemar books. A: Back in the day, I was thrilled when I heard that there was a racehorse named Gandalf (a grey, of course) out of Lothlorien Farms. I think having a rabbitry named for my stuff would be neat! Escpecially since you dine on the culls and donate the pinkies to raptor rehab.
Q: Will there be a follow-up to all those hints about Kal'enel and Vkandis, and if so, when? I'm not a writer nor do I have any desire to become one. I'm very happy as an avid reader, especially of anything to do with Valdemar. But I haven't even heard rumors about this and it's driving me crazy. It was just left hanging at the end of the Mage Storms trilogy. Thanks. A: I don't know; at this point, I've got stuff planned for about the next three years, and though some of it might work into Collegium Chronicles, I don't know for certain.
Q: I have a few questions about Alberich (he is such a lovely person!). Why did you "retire" him when Kerowyn was Chosen? Judging by the length of time he was a Sunsguard cadet and then officer, I think he would have been 10-15 years older than Selenay, so he would have been at most about 55 at the start of the war with Hardorn. I just can not picture him sitting around doing nothing and tutoring Karel would not be that time-consuming! Does he ever get out of Haven other than for the battle with the Tedrels and the first battle against Ancar? What was it that he did to see to it that Karse never got one grain of sand or bit of intelligence out of Valdemar after the Tedrel Wars? Considering how nasty the Voices are, was any attempt made to get his mother out of Karse? Does he get to meet Solaris and how does he help in the diplomacy to end the hostilities between Karse and Valdemar after Solaris becomes the Son of the Sun? Does he recognise her as the daughter spoken of by Kantis? Please let this be in some story! I love all of your books and have no problem telling fact from fiction. You are the best! Can't wait for "Joust" but am even more eager for "Exile's Valor." A: Alberich is the most annoying and recalcitrant creature I have ever had to write about. He insists on having everything his way, no matter what my editor wants! Why did I "retire" him? It ain't the years, my dear, it's the mileage. He did get out of Karse and meet Solaris, and if the second DAW Valdemar anthology ever actually gets published, the story is in that. He's too smart to try and prevent intelligence about Valdemar from getting to Karse; instead, he does misdirection by sending contradictory "intelligence" until the Voices aren't sure what to believe. No attempt was ever made to get his mother out, but his old teachers saw to it that in the confusion she got a new identity.
Q: first off i am a huge fan of the last herald-mage series...my girlfriend got me to read it and now its one of my favorite sets of books thanx a bunch from both of us for writing them. i had just one question its about the tayledras word "Ashke" i know it means beloved so thats my pet name for my girlfriend but i was wondering if you created it or if it origenated from somewhere else? thanx again A:As far as I know, I created it, although I won't discount subconscious influence from elsewhere.
Q: Dear Ms. Lackey I recently finished reading Exile s Honor& I ve read quite a few other of your books and intended to read this one the way I usually read science fiction: for pure entertainment. But the story, maybe because of the dedication to NYC s fallen firefighters, really made me think. I saw a lot of parallels in the story with the events of Sept. 11, but I m not sure if they re coincidence and I m reading too much into the book, or if the parallels were intentional on your part. These are the things I wanted to know after I read the book: Exile s Honor came out in Oct. 2002 where were you in the process of writing it when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks took place? If you were already working on it, what (if anything) changed after the attacks? There are passages in the book that could clearly be related to the U.S., such as Sendar s speech to the Heralds before they set off to the front (p. 286-7 - a rousing tribute to democracy and diversity). How intentional is that kind of parallel were the terrorist attacks on your mind when you wrote his speech? Other parallels I saw: Selenay s refusal to sanction tracking down every single enemy that may have come into Valdemar (your comment on the government s profiling of Muslims? Or on our actions in Afghanistan?). The way the people of Valdemar open their arms to the orphaned children could be seen as a parallel to the way people in the U.S. opened their hearts to New Yorkers after the attacks. Karse has been the "evil empire" of the Valdemar books right from the start & was their brand of religious intolerance and oppression inspired by real-world events before Sept. 11? There isn t a lot of action in the first part of the book after Alberich s escape from Karse and his acceptance of the Herald life, a lot of the plot is essentially his frustration at not being able to actively participate in the fight for his new country& Reflecting the impotence so many Americans felt after Sept. 11? We all did what we could? For the most part, there seems to have been little comment on any parallels between Valdemar and the U.S. are you disappointed? Did you mean to send a message? Have you heard a lot of comments about this? Or am I reading way too much into this? A: I took a while answering this because I wanted to do a really good answer. I finished EXILE'S HONOR roughly around March/April of 2002, so the attacks of September 11---and their aftermath---had a great deal of influence on the book and the content. While the situation was not a parrallel---I'd established the Tedrel Wars as a concept as long ago as the very first Arrows book, as well as the fundamentalist nature of the Karsite theocracy---the emphasis on tolerance and diversity was a reaction to the knee-jerk climate after 9/11/2001. The Karsites and the Holderkin are essentially two of the same kinds of cultures---fundamentalist theocracies, which are the most intolerant, rigid, and repressive kind of government that there is, no matter what the religion. Initially, both the Holderkin and the Karsites represented not to the world of 9/11/2001, but the same sort of reaction to the very concept of incipient theocracy that spawned THE HANDMAID'S TALE back when Ronald Reagan was president. The subplot of the "Tedrel children" was actually created in order to inject some hope and positivism into what was essentially a very dark and grim book. And Alberich's reactions to his situation are entirely the result of Alberich's personality, which is a complicated one (although he would claim he is a very simple man). He has to reshape himself from someone who was relatively inflexible, to someone who can adapt without compromising his core values. And, of course, he has to identify just what those core values are, before he can fit the rest of his life around them.
Q: Misty, I was looking through at the timeline and I noticed a big gap of 472 years between Randale's rule and Arden and Leesa's rule. Are you going to fill in the rest of the gap or just leave it as it is? And are you going to write anything with Jisa and Treven? A: Ask me in a couple of years! At the moment I have a lot on my plate!
Q: First off let me say I love your Valdemar books and I own every single one, a few of them in hardcover!!! I can not wait for the rest of your books to come out and I pray that you will continue writing for a long time to come. Anyway, I was just wondering are you ever going to write a book about Dirk and Talia's Son Jemme? Also, do you have any plans to write about Kris and Lyra? Thank you for taking the time to answer and as always I will anticipate your next Valdemar books!! A: I expect all the kids will show up, at least as cameos, in the Collegium Chronicles.
Q: The Eastern Empire is off the map in the Valdemar Companion. The countries in between Hardorn and the Empire are either independant or Imperial client-states. A: The Eastern Empire is off the map in the Valdemar Companion. The countries in between Hardorn and the Empire are either independant or Imperial client-states.
Q: I love your books and I have had to replace almost half of the ones I won because I read them so much. My question is about By the Sword. In By the Sword it is separated in to three sub-books (Kerowyn's Ride, Two Edged Blade and The Price of Command). I was just wondering why you did that? Was it originally supposed to be a trilogy like The Last Herald Mage trilogy or was it originally intended as a single book like it is now? Thanks and I love your books more than any other author's. A: I separated it into three "books" because so much time passed between each section---just as I did with Exile's Honor.
Q: Hey Misty. Just a quick gush before the actual question. I'm so glad that you produced these books, especially The Last Herald-Mage, my personal favourite. My DM and his wife got me to read Herald-Mage a few months ago, and bought me Exile's Honour for Christmas, so now that I own one I have to buy them all eventually, don't I? Also, for drama class last year, we had to perform a dialogue, and I chose the first pre-bedroom sequence between Tylendal (whom I fell in love with immediately) and Vanyel. My partner and I apparently put so much feeling into it, that we got the highest mark in the class from our teacher (who's a fan but has never read Last Herald-Mage *tsk tsk*). I wanted to thank you for that, as well. It gave me a great feeling to become my favourite character of literature for a little while. As for the question, I just wanted to know what the 'Dazzle-Headaches' you refer to in Brightly Burning are? I realize that it's actually the extension of Lan's Gifts, but the Healer originally called them Dazzle-headaches. Did you get this idea from life, or is this a completely Valdemar-related adolescent phase? Second question: Would you ever consider turning any of the books into movies or plays? I understand how difficult that would be for some, since a lot of the books are very 'internal-conflict-y'. But, hey, just thought I'd ask, right? Thanks for the answers, and the books. Wind to thy Wings. A: Heh. Glad you and your partner got a good grade out of that reading! "Dazzle-headaches" are migraines; I happen to have them myself so I have intimate knowledge of how they can begin with a kind of sparkling field between you and the rest of the world.... As for the movie question, the answer to that, and to how books get turned into movies, is up in the FAQ section.
Q: I have been reading your books since I was in 8th grade and just love them. My favorites are the Velgarth books. And I was just wondering why on all the time lines there is 193 years between King Randale and King Theran of Valdemar. When reading Magic's Price there is an Heir. Why is he not listed?? Also in Arrows of the Queen Talia told Elspeth that there were 3 Queens named Elspeth and only one is listed. A: It's because the only people we've put in the timeline so far are those we've actually written about. Unilke Heinlein, who published this really long and involved "Future History" timeline where he outlined all sorts of stories and books he originally intended to write, then for one reason or another never did.
Q: Dear Misty, ever since I happened across your books in my quest for good fantasy stories, I've been an avid fan! Your books are awesome and I particularly love your stories about Valdemar! At the moment I'm rereading the Winds trilogy for the umpteenth time and every time I stumbled across the reference to the hertasi's function, I've wondered about it. After Firesong is totally exhausted from converting the Heartstone into a Protogate, he says that he's summoned his hertasi and that they will help him. "They know what to do. It's their ancient function." (Winds of Change, p. 400) What is the hertasi's old function??? By the way, thank you very much for taking the time to answer your fans' questions!!! Z'hai helleva, A: The hertasi's ancient function is Service with a capital "S". Everything you ever wanted in a servant, and then some!
Q: Dear Misty, I started reading your books last september, starting with your Valdemar books, specifically the mage wars and working my way up the historical order. I must say I've fallen in love with your books and have devoted a lot of time and energy into getting them from the library through ILL loans. I do find them a little complex, and was very greatful I had a guide to reading your Valdemar books, because it really helped understanding why things are and why they happened. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any sort of guide for your other books, nor can I find a list of the books that you have written. I see these other books at the library which are written by you and are not Valdemar books, and don't know if I should read them or not because they might be in the middle of a series or be something like the MageWinds series where I wouldn't really understand the history and such that I would get in the previous books. It is very confusing. So that leads me to this question. Can you write up a list or point me to an existing list of all the books you have read, organized by world/series and recommended order of reading within the series? I have looked over the questions posted in your faq and have found no questions to reading this. Thanks a lot for your time, 'tis much appreciated, Wind to thy wings (I bet you're so tired of seeing that phrase), Fantasy fanatic and aspiring author A: The Bibliography section is up and running. Two of them in fact. One by pub. date, and the other by series. Can be reached from the mercedeslackey.com homepage. Bravo, Teri!
There are several places to look.
First is the Chronology of Valdemar which has been up on the website for ages.
This lists all the Valdemar books, both in order of publication, and in order according the the timeline of Valdemar.
The second place to look is in the Bibliography section. There are two, Bibliography by publication date, and Bibliography by series.
The special feature of this section is that each book is linked to a page that includes all sorts of information on the book. Cover art and synopsis. Where possible sample chapters. This is very much a work in progress, and may take some time to get everything up on the site. Sample chapters will of course depend on permission from the publishers.
And folks, it is the publishers choice whether or not to allow their work to be posted, not Misty's.
Q: Misty, I was looking through at the timeline and I noticed a big gap of 472 years between Randale's rule and Arden and Leesa's rule. Are you going to fill in the rest of the gap or just leave it as it is? And are you going to write anything with Jisa and Treven? A: It could happen. I prefer not to pin myself down to more than I already have under contract.
Q: I was just in the middle of re-reading Exiles Honor (which, is an excellent book, by the way. Not that you don't already hear that twenty times a day.......but regardless of that, I still felt proper respect was owed.) and I noticed something. I'm surprised I missed it the first time around, actually. Did you base the character Myste on yourself? She is a scribe, not given to overexertion or fighting. (I remeber you saying something like this about yourself in an intro to a Tarma and Kethry story; that you could never willing live the hard life of a merc as those two could.) She is unafraid to put down every embarassing detail about our favorite heros. But the dead giveaway was her name. Afterall, your friends call you by the nickname "Misty." Myste/Misty........very close. I remember when I first read this book, I thought "Cool, this character is a writer. Just the part I would love to play if such a world existed.." Yeah, I am one of the two million aspiring fantasy writers who also happens to be a fan. Don't worry; I won't badger you to read any of my outlines or anything. I'd much rather you stay focused on getting your next books out. But if you would take a moment to answer the above question, I would be ............well, somewhat flattered. I understand if its not important enough, but I'm just dying to know if I'm right on this one. BTW, I find your books to be very inspiring, and uplifting. There was one saying in a Tarma and Kethry story that actually helped me out quite a bit last year. You see, I was about a month away from graduating highshool, and was very nervous about it. But I came across this particular quote in the book Oathbound; "Once the young hawk has broken the shell, it is not possible for it to go back into the egg; and once the young bird has discovered the sky, he will not willingly return to the nest." This may sound silly, but that quote reminded me that I really am ready--and capable--of leaving the proverbial nest. It helped with the transition a little bit. Thank you for that. A: Well, if you can get hold of the DAW Anniversary Fantasy Anthology, you'll find out all about where Myste came from....Or I just may have Teri post the short story on the web page!
There is now a new feature on the website: Short Fiction
Firebird
Q: Hello Misty. I have been a fan of the Valdemar series for several years now and I was wondering if you were planning on explaining how Iftel got it's barrier. I realize it was put up by Vkandis, but I've always wondered why. That has been driving me crazy. Thanks so much. A: Well, I expect I'll write it when I figure it out myself! Unlike Heinlein, who supposedly had a detailed 'future-history' outlined for all his books and stories, I very often put things in that sound interesting, and then see what those ideas suggest to me later.
Q: First, thanks dear Lady for all the great books. Having struggled to maintain coherency while producing a ten page paper, I am utterly amazed at your ability to spin off so many entertaining and well writtin stories. Second, I am sorry to hear about your trouble with people who have bounced their reality check. I hope that your lives return to a semblence of normality soon and the people involved take a nice long vacation far, far away. Perferrable in a place featuring soft padded walls and extra long sleeved jackets. Lastly, I applaud you for bringing positive gay charaters into your writing. There are way too many negative stereotypes, and even fantasy charaters help offset this. In light of this I was wondering, will you ever have a transgendered character? Thanks again for all your wonderful stories, and thanks to Larry for his excellent illustrations. A: While I never say "never," the likelihood of a transgendered lead character is so slim as to be invisible.Here is why. I support myself with my writing; I do not have the luxury of writing books for special-interest audiences. In my limited experience, so much of a transgendered person's life and thought is tied up in their gender difficulties, the ordinary reader would swiftly become bored with such a character; even Vanyel's whinging grates on some peoples' nerves. A wider audience wants to see a character with problems that are solvable; in a modern or sf context, a transgendered person could solve the situation with surgery, genetic modification, body-swap, or whatever. Those options are not available to a fantasy author. As for minor characters, well...I already have used transgendered persons. Didn't you notice?
Q: In ordinary circumstances, how does the relationship between the Monarch's Own and the new monarch develop when the old Monarch passes away? I mean "ordinary" as opposed to the situation between Talamir and Selenay, when Talamir and Selenay couldn't get comfortable with each other to trust, gossip with, etc., which led to Selenay marrying Elspeth's father. (This actually seems ordinary to me.) A: It often is the case that the Monarch's Own and the Monarch are about the same age, and there is a fairly smooth transition--the Monarch's Own-To-Be is a good friend to the Heir and is already comfortable with him or her when the Monarch's Own dies and the new one is Chosen. It often is the case that the Monarch's Own is a lot like a mother- or father-figure to the Monarch, or perhaps more like a trusted aunt or uncle, which makes things more comfortable between them. Talamir's difficulty is that he is not entirely focused in the real world anymore, and misses things that someone who had not been so profoundly shocked to the core would have picked up on.
Q:After the Artificers helped with the new storms, are you going to create an Artificer's Collegium (a sort of "Valdemar Institute of Technology")? It seems unfair to keep them as second-class citizens in the form of unaffiliates A: Well, in the past, there have not been enough Artificers to create a separate Collegium for them. In the far past, there weren't even separate Collegia for Healers, Heralds, and Bards, so I suppose it's not out of the question for Artificers to get their own, eventually, or for the unaffiliated students to get their own private school.
Q: How much did Vanyel and Stef know as ghosts up in the Forest of Sorrows? For example, did Vanyel know that his Aunt Savil and Sayvel were the same (um) entity? In "Winds of Fury," Vanyel refers to both of them in different contexts. A: They tend to know about things that are within their sphere of influence, but not as much about things that are distant from the Forest.
Q: To begin with, I'd like to thank you for choosing to answer my previous question about Iftel. ::grins:: It really made my day to see it posted on the website. The next topic rattling around in my brain concerns twins. So many authors tend to write twins as good-twin-evil-twin, and seeing you treat them as you do in your books is refreshing. I'm eager to see how Selany's twins turn out. My question is a little (okay completely) on the hypothetical side. Have there been twin companions in the books? If so, were they identical twins or fraternal? I'm just curious, considering I belong to the former category Also, could you please clarify something for me? Do companions remember their previous lives? If so, do they remember just the ones where they were companions, or all of them? I know when they are humans, they do not remember, because Karal had to remind himself that Florian wouldn't remember him next time around. ::lol:: And that was such a clever tease! A: I haven't done anything with twin Companions at all that I can think of, and it hadn't occurred to me. Let's just say I'll keep that as a possibility. Companions remember their previous lives, Heralds do not. The implication is that Florian will return, not as a Companion, but as a Herald, and so won't remember Karal
Q: I found your griffon series - isn't it, like, Mage Wars or something? - in a used book store for half the cover price, and bought them up, along with the book Oathbound. I read the griffon books in about a week, unable to put them down. I was so HAPPY to find them - nobody ever writes about griffons, especially as main characters. Skandranon, by the way, is the coolest griffon ever! And Larry's pictures are so awesome. I just have one question: What do all those other creatures that Urtho created? The tervardri and the kyree, I mean. The only explanation I could find was that the kyree were "wolflike." And I know it's not really VITALLY IMPORTANT to know what they look like, but I'm just curious. I would greatly appreciate it if you could reply and tell me what those critters look like! Thanks. A: Well, you were lucky to find the books in a used bookstore; most people tend to keep their copies! Anyone who knows Larry will tell you that there's quite a bit of him in Skandranon, too.
Now, the kyree have rather blunt, wolf-like heads and bodies like a cheetah, with tails and coats like wolves.
Q: Hello Misty - I was just wanting to ask what you recommend for reading your books as I have just discovered them - in historical order or does it not matter? I just picked up Take A Thief and really enjoyed it. Couldn't believe how many books you have out there! Then I couldn't believe people are taking it all to heart and sending you death threats and asking you to start a church. Oh well, they make the world go round I guess. Thanks. A: Heh. In regards to starting a church, I'm afraid that between us, charismatic Larry and my writing, we could probably give some other "churches" a run for their money! We have to keep telling ourselves "I will use my powers only for good!" Insofar as the order, I don't really know that it matters, to tell you the truth; the oldest books may be a bit "young-adult," but there's nothing wrong with that. I would definitely read first the "Winds" and then the "Storms" books in that order, though, since I think you'd probably be a bit lost if you got them out of order.
2002 Q: I think my favorite character, or one of them at least aside from Talia and also Tarma is Weaponsmaster Alberich. I just love him. :) He's such a great character. I know that a book about him is in progress (and I'm waiting eagerly) but I have to ask: what is the man's last name? A: He doesn't have one. In Karse, that's one of the marks of a bastard; if the father doesn't acknowledge him, he has no last name.
Q: I am an avid reader, and have been reading your books since I was 9 (being 14 now), I just love your books, and can never get enough of them. My mom is the same way. She calls it an addiction. I could never realize why she would call it an addiction until I began reading them. Now I totally agree with her. I have a couple of quick questions if you don t mind. I just got done re-reading To Take a Thief and was wondering if you were going to do a squeal to that. I love Skif, along with all of the other characters of your other books, and was wondering what happened to him, after he was chosen. I think in your arrows books you mentioned that Skif went out with one of the other main characters on a Herald internship. (I don t remember what it was called and don t have the books handy at the moment). I just wanted to know what happened between the time that you left off in Take a Thief and that point, and if you were going to go into more detail about him. I love your books. I often get into trouble for not completing my homework because I was tied up under the covers reading your books. Also I was have been going to a school and my major being literary arts (it s a high school called CAPA in Pittsburgh PA) and they are teaching us to write fiction and other forms of writing. The problem being with fiction is that they are teaching us non-genera fiction (or as they call it literary fiction) and was wondering if you had to go through that. Being a fantasy reader, I can never come up with ideas to write literary fiction. And lastly (A special question from my mother), would you ever consider doing a book signing in Pittsburgh, and maybe a Q&A session as well. I know a lot of fans would really like it. I know I would enjoy meeting you, and having you answer questions personally. A: If you mean the stuff about Skif between the end of TAKE A THIEF and when he and Elspeth go looking for some magical help in WINDS OF FATE, WINDS OF CHANGE and WINDS OF FURY, I wasn't planning on it. However, if you haven't read the WINDS books yet, you'll find a great deal about Skif in them.
Q: A quick note of thanks and one question for you. First the thanks. A friend of mine let me borrow the Owl Knight trilogy a few years ago and many woderful hours of reading later, I own most of your books published to date. During my recent deployment to Saudi Arabia. The entire Valdemar series was included in my packs. My job comes with bouts of mad rushes and complete boredom. Reading the Valdemar series(for about the fourth time) helped to pass the slow hours away. Now for my question. I have noticed on your upcoming books list and in the FAQ page that you seem to be working on filling in the gaps in Valdemar history. I was a long time fan of Piers Anthony's Xanth series and liked the way that he kept the timeline moving in a forward direction. Do you anticipate doing any novels/trilogies that continue on where Owl Knight left off? Either way any new books will be added to the collection( I hate not having a complete series so you can count on at least one sale). Thank You again. A: Hey, Jason! I'm glad that we're able to fill in the long hours of nothing that is the reality of a deployment---as has been often said, "thirty minutes of terror followed by a month of inactivity." At the moment, Larry is up to his eyeballs in art projects, several covers and a lot of game-book work, but as soon as he's got some time free, we intend to follow up both the Owl books and to restart the SERRAted Edge books. Meanwhile, as you can see, I'm filling in backstory on my solo works.
Q: I just want to let you know I love all your stories. I am reading your Owl series for the first time. I have read Owlflight and Owlsight and am now working on Owlknight. These are all awesome so far and I really like the Hawkbrothers. I was wondering how you came up with the idea of Bondbirds? I really like them and think they are neat characters. Thanks A: Ah, the bondbirds!Well, I love raptors, but as a rehabber, I am only too well aware that they aren't the brightest bulbs in the box---amazing hunters, but most of what they do is hardwired, and a huge amount of their brain is devoted to visual cortex. So I wondered what a raptor would be like if it was as social and smart as a parrot, and added the telepathic bond just for good measure.
Q: Hey Misty! I'm a fan of your kyree, and I had a few questions concerning the species: 1) How long do kyree live? Does their lifespan exceed that of humans? 2) When Tarma and Kethry died at their ripe old age, did Warrl die too because he was bound to Tarma? Did they all die together because they were interbound? 3) Rris is cool. Just stating a fact. Thanks, and may your life be uninteresting! A: Kyree live about as long as huimans; as for when everybody died, well, I haven't thought about that, and actually I prefer not to. Q: I'm 13 and I am a new fan. I began reading Queens Own since then I have completed the Mage Winds Books the The Storm Books Take a Thief and By the Sword. I totally love your books but I was wondering if you were ever going to write about Kris and Dirk or Skif and Nyara. I am also wondering how you got your ideas they are awesome. Please write back i would like very much to hear from you. A: Ideas come from asking questions---what if there were elves in the real world? What would they be doing? Why would they be doing it? When you look at the world and ask not only why but why not? that is where ideas come from. You'll find that generating them is a skill like any other, you get better at it the more you do it. Q: First I want to say that I love any book about Valdemar. Second, I LOVE Vanyel (I'm rereading the last herald mage trilogies again. the only other book I've read this much is "Child of Farie, Child of Earth" by Josepha Sherman). He has got to be my most favorite character out of any book I've ever read. Related to him I have this question... why did you make him homosexual? I don't see why he couldn't have been straight. I mean, you would have had to make Tylendel and Steff girls, but other than that, I don't see how it would have affected the story. Does it have any major influence on any novels you plan to write? I would also like to add it bothered me the way Karal(from mage storms trilogy) didn't seem comfortable with Vanyel(I mean I know Vanyel was a "ghost" but still, I think Karal had seen stranger things). I liked Karal a lot less after that, particularly because of the way it seemed to upset Vanyel. I would love to read more about Vanyel. Thanks Lots! Dionne A: Because I had already said Vanyel was gay in the first chapter of Arrows of the Queen. Little hard to go back and undo that. As for how Karal reacted...well, for centuries Herald-Mage Vanyel was one of his country's worst enemy's ever. Kids had been scared into being good "Or Vanyel will get you." Just because Solaris has come in and said, "no, that was all wrong" isn't going to change people's immediate gut-level reactions to him. Imagine how you would feel if you were confronted with the ghost of Atilla the Hun or Genghis Khan. No matter who told you that these guys were okay and everything bad you'd ever heard about them was wrong, your insides would still be screaming that they ate babies for breakfast. Q: All of a sudden people have started asking about how Talia got to be a priestess of the sun in Karse. Why this is such a burning question right now is beyond me. I know there's a story up in the BAEN Bar on how this came about. What's the chance of putting this up on the Firebird site? Or is this part of a future publication and can't be posted? I've been referring them back to the FAQ segment on Valdemar. Teri A: The story has aged off the Bar and I only put it up there because of 9/11 to give people something else to think about; I think that they can manage to wait the couple of months for it to take for the anthology to come out. Spring, is my guess. Q: 1.) Was Diana's editor named Martin after the infamous Martin Greenburg? 2.)Are you ever going to explain the whole pre-cataclysm thing? 3.)What ever happened to Mr. You-knew-my-famous-cousin-Warrl? 4.)For that matter, how do you pronounce Warrl? Do you roll the 'r' or not? And Skandranon? My mother and I have been arguing about it since I read Vows and Honors and the Black Gryphon. And last but not least, 5.) This is a silly question, but it just shows up in your responses too much for me to resist. Is there anyone in the books who doesn't end up in Bermuda? *laughs* Well, of course, what Misty question would be complete without the "YOU ARE THE BEST WRITER IN THE WORLD" speech? Hahahahah! Actually, you are my idol. I didn't start writing or realize I had the talent for it until I read your work. It would seem I have a natural talent I didn't know what there until I started reading your books. SO thank you for your inspiration. One last thing. In Jinx High, when Diana said all that stuff about writing like not believing in 'Writers Block,' where those your personal feelings too? A: 1.) Yes indeed, he was. We love Marty! 2.) We would very much like to get back to that---I'm assuming you're talking about the Bardic Voices universe? 3.) Rris is the kyree historian-in-residence at Haven. 4.) Warrl is pronounced War-url with a rolled but gutteral 'r'. Skandranon is with short 'a's and 'on' as in 'on and off.' 5.) Bermuda is my idea of heaven so everybody ends up there unless they go to one of the nine hells or gets recycled. Yeah, because in a normal, non-crisis situation, 'Writer's Block' is either your subconscious telling you that the plot as planned isn't working, or telling you to take a rest from that particular plot. The only time I've ever had trouble writing was when we were fighting the insurance company over the fire in Larry's studio. Q: hello, I am rereading "The Last Herald Mage" trilogy, and I have noticed a few interesting detailes (esecially since I read "Lord of the Rings" right before that). Krebain, the evil mage that Vanyel kills at the end of the first book reminded me a lot of the evil birds (the crebain) from "LotR" and there was a companion named "Rohan" (like those kingdom of the horse lords) in the third book. And so I was wondering if you conciously slipped those in. =) I should add that you are a wonderufl writer, and that it helped me a great deal to learn english by reading your books (what better way to learn that to do so by having fun, eh?) *grins* good luck in your upcomming projects (which i hope will come *very* soon) =) A: I did have the "crebain" in mind for the villain of the last book, however, I believe you've misread "Rohan" for "Rolan."
Q: I am a huge fan. I picked up Arrows of the Queen when it first came out. I guess because Talia was my first introduction to the Valdemar, she has always been my favorite. What I was wondering is if you have ever thought about writing more about her, (Maybe not as the main character, although, I'd really love that), but maybe as a secondary character. I must admit, that I have wondered about her more than once and her story just doesn't feel as though it is done. I guess that is a sign of great writing, leaving the readers wanting more. Well anyway, I just want you to know that I have always enjoyed your work and look forward to reading future books. Thanks. A: Talia will certainly be making cameos in the Collegium Chronicles. You'll get to see her as an exasperated mother....
Q: First, I would like to say that I am a huge fan of your books, especialy the earlier ones. I have one question. In the Magic series, you mention that vanyel has four children: Jisa, Brightstar and his twin, and a child going to lissa's shaych guards. do any of the fourth chhild's ancestors come into play in the later books? Thanks very much for reading this! A: Once again, the answer to this question is "I don't know yet." Unlike Heinlein, I didn't map out the entire 'history' of what I planned to do before I started writing the first books. Q: where did you get the name Tannim? A: I didn't---it was Larry's idea. I think it might have been one of his old RPG characters. Q: Hi. First of all, I love your books so much!! And so do do all of my friends. Anyways, when Vanyel and Stephen are ghosties in the Forest of Sorrows, does Stephen have all of Tylendel's memories? Does he know he is Tylendal at all? Thanks! A: He has all of Tylendel's memories, but as "Tylendel" he only has about 16 years, and as "Stefan" he has almost 70, so at that point he's mostly "Stefan." Q: First of all, before I start rambling on about true magic in Valdemar, I would just like to say that I love all your books, even if I ve only read&..11, I think.=) I m eleven years old and live in CA, holed up at my pc or snuggled up in bed with a book most of the time. Ok, so I know that Van was the last Herald-Mage, but I just have to make sure. My question is: We know because of the Arrows books immigrants are not outlawed, or else there would be no deceiving nurse to turn Elspeth into the Brat, and we also know from Keth that true magic still exists outside of Valdemar. So if immigrants came with a mage-gift, and had kids(in Valdemar) that have mage-gift, then why were there no other Herald-mages? I mean, one of the littles has to get chosen if they have mage-gift and the right personality, right? Or did the Sun god curse those families to never be nice? Hehehehehe. Oh well. I read your The Last Straw article, and I thought that some people must really be in a down part of their life for them to actually believe in any of that. *Shudder* What did&erm&Mardi and Donni, I think their names were, do before they were killed, but after they saved Vanyel? And why, why, oh why did they have to die?! They were my favorite characters! How s the weather in Bermuda about this time of year? Are you British? All the good authors seem to be You rock, You rock, You rock soooo so much, A: After Van died, there were people born with Mage-Gift, but there was no longer anyone left in Valdemar who could recognize it or teach it. It got mistaken for Farsight or some other similar Gift. Insofar as the rest of the Herald-Mages of Van's time go...well, it just seems as if it would be entirely too depressing to write about them as I killed them off one at a time. The weather in Bermuda is excellent any time of year (g). I'm not British, although I am very fond of the UK. I was born in Chicago, raised in Northern Indiana, and live in Oklahoma. However, many of my favorite authors are British, so perhaps over the years I've picked up something of a British flavor that comes out in my writing. I adore J.K. Rowling, of course, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis, but my absolutely favorite British author is Dorothy L. Sayers, who wrote the Peter Wimsey mysteries. If you haven't discovered Andre Norton's books, do try them, I think you'll like them. Thanks for all the compliments, Andrew! I used to spend most of my time holed up with books as well---if there had been home computers when I was growing up, I just know that I would have been addicted to them! Q: I am 55 years old and have been an avid fan since the first issue of your Valdemar series. I have often wondered when you would write about the founding of the country. You have mentioned how it was founded in several of your books, but I feel it would merit a book (or more) on the trials that led up to the "King" leading his people and founding Valdemar. Also, the start of the whole Companion set up in the country could be elaborated. A: This is one of those cases where the legends are generally better than the reality. I probably won't write about those early years directly, for that reason. Q: Shalom, I am a 15 year old and I've been reading your books since about 6th grade. I know i've already said this I'm just paranoid. Well one day as I was wandering around semi-aimlessy I found this rumour that you'd written a book titled OathBlinded and in Oathblinded Kethry turns out to be a V'kandis and leaves to go repopulate Tale'sedrin with Kal'enel. Before she leaves she turns Tarma into man, to keep Jadrek company. Apparently there is also a Jadrek and sheep scene. Please say it isn't so. Jadrek's my favorite character and I couldn't stand the thought. Z'hai halleva. A: There are always idiotic rumors going around, but this one is rather too stupid to even be amusing. I did at one time plan to write a book called OathBlinded, the plot of which was to involve the students at Tarma and Kethry's school, and the futility of revenge. I haven't yet done so, and though the option is always open, my schedule's a bit crowded to write it for the next couple of years. Frankly, if this is more than merely a rumor, this sounds as if someone took that title and wrote a fanfiction novel with that particular plot---someone who didn't bother to check what was canonical before haring off with his or her own silly idea. It sounds like an appallingly bad story, if so; one that not even excellent writing could possibly redeem.
This, by the way, is one reason why my agent hates fanfiction. Q: Question on Language Novel: I just want to say that I own and have read every one of your books even the new Exile's Honor, and Take a Theif. I am also looking foward to Exile's Valor. While theses are all great books that, that are all my favorite of the fantasy world, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU PLAN ON PUBLISHING A BOOK ON HOW TO LEARN TO SPEAK TAYLANDRES? Tolkein did this for a few languages and no offense he is a great writter and all but he is predictable, and too discriptive. In my opinion you should be the one with movies in the theater. Thank you for answering my question and I hope you consider writting a book on the language if you havent dont do yet A: Heh. While this is an amusing idea, and I thank you for the confidence, there are several inescapable problems with it.First and formost is that am not a linguist. Tolkien was a PhD philologist and was familiar with a multitude of languages, as well as having spent considerable time in creating the several languages of Middle Earth. To put it simply, I'm a biologist, and I just put together a few phrases that sound right and follow a few simple grammatical rules. Secondly, if I spent as much time doing that as Tolkien did on creating Quenya alone, no new fiction would be written for at least a year. This would make 99.9% of the other fans unhappy, and my publishers VERY unhappy. Thirdly, my publishers are in the publishing business to make money, and sell more books than the last time. This book would sell to fewer people than the VALDEMAR COMPANION did, and it was something of an uphill battle to interest them in that (it took roughly five years to convince them). And while I could indeed publish it through Firebird, this would make my publishers even MORE unhappy that I had spent all that time on a "special interest publication." Tolkien was a genius who set the bar for the rest of us, but he was also a career academic at Oxford before the days of "publish or perish" who had a lot of time over the course of his sixty or so years of writing to devote to his philological hobby. Short form: not going to happen, sorry. But thanks anyway, and I certainly am glad you like the books enough to want it! > Q: I wanted to tell you that I have read almost all of your Valdemar novels. (I actually own them all as well, I just haven't had the time to read them) Your my most favorite author. I just recently purchased Exile's Honor. I thought it was very, very good. (I also have Take A Thief) I was wondering if there would be any more Valdemar books soon, or what you had plans for. I can't wait to read more of your books! A: At the moment the next up will be "Exile's Valor," which will take up where "Exile's Honor" left off. Q: Dear Misty, Thank you for creating such a wonderful place as Valedemar. Whenever things get tough or I just need a break, I pick up one of your books and escape to the world of Companions and Heralds !!! I have enjoyed them all. The characters just come alive. I have read them hundreds of times over the years and everytime it is like coming home to old friends !!! Vanyel has always been my favorite and I am wondering if you plan on writing more about him? I am anxiously awaiting the next Valdemar story !!! Wind to thy Wings A: I haven't got any plans to do anything more with Vanyel at the moment, and thank you! Q: Just a couple of quick questions. One, the guy on the cover of the Valdemar Companion is Van, right? Huge debate between me and a few friends A: That is, indeed, a brand new Jodi Lee picture of Vanyel in his prime. Q: Are Herald Myste and Albrech an item???? If so way to go. If not, why not?? A: Of course they are! What, me miss a chance for a romance? Q: I'm sure You get this all the time but you're on of my favorite authors. I just finished Exile's Honor and I was wondering if Alberich's grammer was that bad in The Herald's of Valdemar Trilogy? I would also like to know if you're ever going to write a book with the main character as a bard or a healer? A: Alberich's grammar improves with time, as is the case with most people living in a foreign (to them) country for many years. I don't have any plans for a main character of a Valdemaran Bard or Healer, but the Bardic Voices books do concentrate on Bards in a different "universe." > Q: I have been a fan of yours ever since I read Sacred Ground (which I've read several times). I'm Native American and have a college degree in Law Enforcement and have worked in repatriation, so I found myself identitying with much of the story. Next I discovered the Heralds of Valdemar Series which I can't put down. Elvenbane and Elvenblood were good and Bardic Voices excellent, though I have only read the first book. Now I'm reading "Take A Thief." However, I have a problem. I believe that I read in the Heralds of Valdemar Trilogy that Skif was raised by an old drunken woman on the streets of Haven, not by his miserable Uncle Londer or the kind Bazie. Since I feel like all these characters are family, it comes as such a disappointment that you can't keep the lives of your characters straight. Any comment? A: Well, Skif's story is always subject to change, depending on who Skif wants to influence and why. He never does get over his habit of concocting tall tales to see who will "bite." Q: Dear Ms. Lackey, I have a couple of questions regarding Tarma and Kethry, 1. Exactly which hand is the scar from the oath of she'endra on, I've found four references - two for the right, two for the left. 2. When you say Warrl has the body of a "grass-cat" are we talking closer to lynx, bobcat, cheetah, lion, or something else? That's all I can think of for now. I may come up with more, I'm working on a little hobby project and these details would really help. Thanks. Sincerely, Emily A: Heh. That inconsistency just proves I don't get all my facts straight! Choose whichever hand you like. As for the "body of a grass-cat," we're talking about a cheetah, here. Kyree are closest to cheetahs in everything but the the head and the fur. Have fun with your project! Q: Hi. I cannot express enough how much I love your books. I am constantly amazed at the adventures your characters take on just to better their country and the people they serve. I was wondering whether or not you have thought about the idea of writing about Selenay. She sounds like a strong character and I would love to read about her story. Thank you for your time. A: There's going to be more about her in EXILE'S VALOR. > Q: I just recently started my third bout with college and am studying ASL (american sign language) this time around. Just finished reading "Exile's Honor" and noticed something amusing... Don't know if this was intentional or not... But do you realize that Alberich basically speaks in ASL??? I thought that was rather neat! Keep writing! It gives us addicts something to do without wearing out our older Valdemar volumes!!! A: Heh. Alberich speaks in something like Germanic syntax. "The German plunges into a sea of rhetoric and emerges on the other side with a verb in his mouth." (Mark Twain)
Or Yoda "Backward teach you to speak will I" Q: :) I was wondering, very few writers have gryphon characters, fewer still give them the intelligence they deserve. What made you think of gryphon's for your books? Why as intelligent beings? Your books and ideas have shaped the image of the modern gryphon, making them more then myth and making more Real. You truly are a wonderful writer and I hope you write more about those lovable vain birds in the future. By The Way... i hope if you haven't been to the "Gryphon's Guild" (http://gryphonguild.org/) that when you get some free time (if you ever?) you will check it out. (it's where the gryphon fanatics call home) A: Well, bringing the gryphons "on stage" as characters was largely due to Larry, and he's the one who was the most responsible for their character. I'm not sure if there's a lot of Larry in the gryphons, or a lot of the gryphons in Larry! I suspect that he really liked the idea of anything similar to a bird of prey being an intelligent, articulate character. And besides, everybody was doing dragons! Q:Dear Ms. Lackey, I am a 14 year old and I am a very big fan of your books, and I very much appreciate all the time and energy that you put into writing all of these books (and I personally think you will beat Isaac Asimov's record.) Whenever I am down, or have troubles that are really bothering me, I can always look to your books to temporarily take me away from the real world to forget my difficulties for a while. For that, I thank you deeply. I am not a weirdo that takes the religions from your books and worships them in the real world. I know better than that, but I still look to your books for comfort. Thank you. Now, to the questions that I have. In Storm Warning, when Karal is reading the journal, the journal mentions that Vkandis Sunlord and Kal'enel were consorts. My question is whether you will elaborate on that in the future? That would be very interesting to hear about those two, although I doubt there wi! ll be a whole book devoted to just that cause. I am questioned by this because I noticed their relationships. Kal'enel is called the Stareyed, and Vkandis' full name is Vkandis Sunlord and is represented by the golden sun that all the Karsite priests/priestesses wear. My second question is if you are going to create any new trilogies for Valdemar, and what might your ideas be? (Please excuse me if I am being a bit nosy and asking for things you havn't even thought of yet, but being a teenager, I am impatient and always curious.) Those are all the questions that I have now, but I must add one more thing refering to "The Last Straw" article that you wrote. I am personally deeply disturbed by what people have done to you, your husband, and your friends. It must be horrible for you, and I am angered that this would ever happen, because it shouldn't happen at all. People need to realise that this is not a book, when everything will be just the way it was before you bega! n reading. If certain people cannot grasp this concept, then they should not be reading fantasy, or any type of bok whatsoever. I am very sorry for what has happened, and I respect you for being strong in this situation. Again, I really appreciate everything that you have done and written (you should see me when I go to Barnes and Noble, I find your Valdemar books, sit down, and arrange them in chronological order. People just look and stare...) and I look forward to more things in the future. Z'hai helleva! A: Well, we have always preferred to create fictional worlds that have room for a lot more elaboration "later," and so we have the habit of leaving lots of open-ended questions in anything we write. Since this is basically the way that the real world is, maybe that's why some people mistake our fiction for reality. But in any event, that's what the business with Karal is, a question that gives us a starting-point for something else, some time down the road. Right now, the next Valdemar book will be the continuation of Alberich's story, EXILE'S VALOR. After that, we'll have something about students in the three Collegia, called "The Collegium Chronicles." > Q: Just recently found your website. Love your Valdemar writtings, slowly buying up the series. Think it is wonderful that Oklahoma has produced a (inter)nationally known author! Question: are there any plans on a story covering the founding of Valdemar? Seems like a big gap in time between the Mage Wars and the Last Herald Mage books. A: Oklahoma produced a set of internationally known authors a long time ago! Will Rogers, Lynn Riggs (who wrote many, many plays, including "Green Grow the Lilacs," which was the basis for the musical "Oklahoma"), famous sf author Ray Lafferty, famous sf author CJ Cherryh, famous young-adult author S.E. Hinton, famous historian Michael Wallis, famous mystery writer Jean Hagger, gosh, I could go on for pages. Not only am I not the first, I am nowhere near the most well-known!
Q: Just wanted to say thanks and great work from fans in Canada. The 'thanks' is an important one. My Dad, who in all other ways was a wonderful, funny, sweet man who said he hated all bigotry....except was VERY anti-gay. So i grew up with alot of BAD ideas about homosexuals. Until i read the Last Herald series as a teen (boy, THAT was a while ago!) and discovered that GASP! they are just people. Its not about sex, but love! And more love is something this world needs! As an adult im glad i have my own opinions, but im sure glad that you helped re-form that one. Im a more tolerant person because of you and your writing, (with some gay and lesbian friends, i may add) and please remember that when some looney stalker is writing nastys. OK, more pleasant things...Are you planning to write books about the Valdemar founding? My husband and I are begging you! My husband also wants to know how old Albrech (spelling?) is too. PS also some of my best sculpting work came out of reading the Griffon series, and now i have some lovely Skandranon bookends! (Id love to send you some, but the cost of mailing bronze or even plaster is more than i can handle!) Thanks again, Happy Writing A: Thanks to you; you let me know that I'm doing my job right. At the moment, I've got about three to four years of Valdemar stuff ahead of me; we'll see what comes up when I've written out the Collegium Chronicles. Alberich is in his mid 20s when he is Chosen, so you can probably work out how old he is from there. But, as Larry says, "It ain't the years, it's the mileage!"
Q: I have a question for you, Misty. This has probably been answered a million times, so if you have answered, I am very sorry for the inconveience. I was just wondering if there is a Tayledras-English dictionary available to the public. I think that it is a beautiful language, and it should be able to be studied. If there is one, please tell me. I know thay there is one of the Shin'a'in language in the back of one of the books. So maybe you could do this with Tayledras? Thanks for your time. A: There's not a dictionary as such, but there will probably be a glossary incorporated into the new "Herald's Companion" coming out in December from DAW Books. Q: Here's a generic answer to several question that have come in about older characters. A: Some thoughts about favorite old characters: Tarma, Kethry, and Savil are all old favorites of a lot of people, and I can certainly understand about wanting to see more of them. But if you'll look at my schedule for the next year (and more!) you'll realize that I've got my plate pretty full as it is with books that have been contracted for. I'm not doing a lot of short stories anymore, partly because my brain is pretty "full" of plotting for the books, and my time is taken up with writing them. I suspect we're all used to the kind of frenetic writing that produces TV episodes, and get impatient when nothing new comes out every week! But what everybody forgets is that there are about a dozen writers behind every TV show, and only one of me. Basically, what this means is that when the overwhelming inspiration strikes, I'll gladly do more stories about these characters, but right now, I'm up to my eyebrows in work! > Q: I recently finished Take A Thief, and loved it!!! I have heard rumors about a new book called Honor Among Thieves that also revolves around Skif. I was wondering if you could post some information about the book and an approxament release date i.e. your still working on it or you haven't started yet or it's getting ready to be released. Thanks a lot! A: Sorry about that; never heard of it! Sounds like another fan-novel out there somewhere. > Q: I wanted to thank you for bringing scientist and engineers into your Mage Storm Trilogy. As a scientist, I was delighted! What inspired you to create those characters? A: I have the highest respect for scientists and engineers---and all too often the answers to problems in fantasy books rely solely on "magicking your way out," instead of "reasoning your way out." You'll notice, I hope, that in our books, once you accept the proposition that there is an energy source ("Magic") that can be manipulated to get physical effects, that the magic obeys most of the laws of real-world physics! > Q: I just finished the winds serious, And I really enjoyed them all. looking back a ways I'm now re-reading the Mage Wars serious and I just have one question: In the winds serious Firesong is effected by the storms in ways that make him angrey and he loses controll of his powers. Is that the sae thing that happened to Hadanelith? was he also effected by the mage storms in a way that drove his to violence or is that just me speculating? A: As a matter of fact, that was part of it. The rest of it was that he was a sadistic beast. > Q: Heyla, Misty. I've been wondering about a couple of things for a while now, so I decided I'd ask about them and see if I could get an answer? First: I think someone asked something similar to this; they asked if you were ever going to write any books dealing with the founding of Valedemar, I believe... But I was wondering if we'll ever see a book dealing with some of the early Heralds, like Sunsinger, Shadowdancer, and Windrider. I remember Talia is reading a book about them at some point in the Arrows trilogy...any chance we'll ever get to read that book? Second: I really liked how some of the later books have the black and white pictures of the characters in them, such as the Gryphons series, and the Winds series too. It's Larry who draws the pictures right? Well, I was wondering if there will ever be any pictures drawn of the characters from some of the earlier books, such as Vanyel and company. Also, why weren't there any pictures in Take a Theif? For some reason, I was thinking there would be... Thank you for reading and (hopefully) answering. I just want to say on a parting note that I absolutely adore all your books and characters and I can't wait for more! A: believe people have asked about Sunsinger, etc before; the answer is that these stories are much better as songs than they would be as stories. Although Larry hasn't done any pictures of characters from the earlier books, this, of course, doesn't mean that many fans haven't drawn there own, and there are a lot of them online. He has been pursuing a number of projects on his own, which is why he didn't have time to do art for the last few books. > Q: Dear Mercedes, I have enjoyed your books since the first Arrows, and I am delighted to have at last the story of Alberich (he is one of my favourites despite him staying in the background). One question drives me crazy since the beginning, how long is a candlemark ? Sometimes it seems barely a quarter hour, sometimes an hour. I would think an hour but could you confirm ? Many thanks for the many hours of enjoyement you've given me. I'm currently running through my second batch of your books. I read them often enough that the first batch has finally fallen to pieces (when it's not fallen in the bath, mud, under the rain...) A: Why, thank you very much! A candlemark is roughly an hour, but as we all know, time flies when you're having fun! > Q: I've read most of the Valdemar books and had these thoughts bubbling around. Since then, some of the fanfics I've seen have promted the complete thoughts. Is written/spoken Valdemarian indistinguishable from English? Some fics have gone either way on this. (Then again, your lyrics would not exactly ryme properly within the setting if so.. ;) Also... If someone is chosen as an adult (20 on up), do they have to go through the same lengthy schooling as the small fry, aside from the required chores/training? Or, are they allowed to skip what they prove they know? Beyond that, are they housed in the Collegum, or in the single Heralds wing? Thanks A: If Valdemaran wasn't identical with written and spoken English, I'd have a hard time selling the books, wouldn't I (g)? I mean, with all the dialogue in some bizarre gibberish....it'd be like trying to watch anime without subtitles or overdubbing. As for being Chosen as an adult, you'll actually see more than a bit of that in EXILE'S HONOR, the Alberich book coming out in October, but for the short-form, yes, adults more-or-less "test out" of things they already know, putting them on a kind of "fast-track" version of being a Trainee. And the housing depends on the person, since there isn't any room-sharing; if someone really didn't feel comfortable being housed in the Collegium Wing, accomodations would be made. Q: First of all, I'd like to say that you really know how to put that touch into your books (I cried to the extreme for at least an hour when Kalira died in 'Brightly Burning'). Aside from that, I have two questions about Companions: 1: Do Heralds ever get annoyed by the constant chiming of their hooves? 2: Why weren't Companions originally created to be more powerful? Like, with wings and horns and stuff? I think Valdemar may have been a safer place. I absolutely love your books! By the way, I'm 11 and I live in New Jersey, in case you wanted to know who was reading your novels. Have a nice day A: I really need to start buying stock in Kleenex.... The chiming of Companion hooves tends to be pretty soft, and only happens on hard-surface roads, so it kind of moves into the background and is no more annoying than birdsong. (Then again, remember that I live in a house with 10 parrots, so....) Companions were created in the form of a regular horse precisely because a normal horse is not highly visible, in fact, it's about as 'visible' as a compact car in our society. If someone shows up with a white horse, well, it might just be a white horse (remember that Kantor conceals the color of his eyes in "Stolen Silver") and this enables Heralds to work "undercover." If they showed up with something with wings and horns, well, that would be pretty obvious.
For those non equestrian types out there. Gray horses are born in regular horse colors, bay, brown, black, pinto. Then over time the gray gene takes over and starts turning all the colored hair white. If the horse lives long enough, it will turn completely white. Some breeds of horses have a very high occurance of the gray gene, the famous dancing white stallions of the Spanish Riding School are one example.
So lets suppose that there are a couple of horse breeds in Valdemar that carry the gray gene. There would be lots of young gray horses, and lots of older white horses. How better to hide in plain sight that to become just another older, settled white horse? Q: Hi Misty, I have been reading the Storm trilogy again, and cannot figure out when Talia became a priest(ess) of Vkandis. In which book is it, or is it still to come? thanks A: That will be in a novella in the next Valdemar anthology. Q: Hello, I just read in the FAQ page that Phil Austin passed away. I VERY much enjoyed his stories with Misty in Sword of Ice. I was looking forward to reading others by him. My question is, do you know if he published anymore? What books would they be in? He was quite talented.
Thanks, Q: First of all, this is not technically a question for Misty, just a personal note and a thankyou The thankyou is for some wonderful reading. I first stumbled on your book Arrows of the Queen about Talia when I was pretty young. My home life was pretty rotten with an alcoholic, abusive mother. I so identified with Talia and spent lots and lots of time dreaming for a Companion to come carry me off. *S* I thank you for the books and the daydreams that helped me through some pretty rotten times growing up. Now of course, years later I still love the books and have been introducing my 8 year old to fantasy. Your books are on the list to give him in a couple years (he's still a little young for them). Now here is my personal note. I found out just after Christmas that I'm expecting again. Already having two boys I really wanted a girl and my husband and I decided we just loved the name Kethry if she was going to be a girl. So we chose Kethry Lynn. At 20 weeks along I went in for a routine ultrasound to find, surprise...it's twins! And girls. We wracked our brains and could not come up with a name that sounded *right* with Kethry. My husband finally ventured that no name could sound right with Kethry except Tarma. So now the girls will be Tarma Roxanne for the firstborn (I think Tarma was older) and Kethry Lynn for the second born. And when they get old enough I will purchase two complete copies of the Tarma and Kethry series for the girls as gifts so they can see where their names came from. So thank you for the many hours of enjoyable reading and the lovely names. If you would like a copy of the birth announcement and have an address for fan letters (I am NOT asking for your personal address, but a place where fan mail is delivered) I'd be glad to send it along. However since I can't imagine the birth of my twins would greatly effect your life | ||||||||